Glossary of Interactive Advertising Terms
From:
Interactive Advertising Bureau
(http://www.iab.net/resources/glossary_a.asp)
(Any and all rights for this document belong to the IAB, this version has been created solely for the
convenience of the readers of Occam’s Razor by Avinash Kaushik blog – www.kaushik.net/avinash to facilitate wider dissemination and ease of printing.)
September 2006.
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A
AAAA (American Association of Advertising Agencies) a non-profit trade association dedicated to improving and strengthening the advertising
agency business. See www.aaaa.org for more information.
ANA (Association of National Advertisers) the trade association serving the needs of advertisers and marketers by providing
leadership in advertising and marketing trends and best practices. See ana.net for more
information.
ARF (Advertising Research Foundation) a nonprofit trade association whose mission is profitable business through effective
research and insights. See arfsite.org for more information.
Abandon when a user leaves a shopping cart with something in it prior to completing the
transaction.
Abort when a Web server does not successfully transfer a unit of content or ad to a browser. This
is usually caused by a user hitting the stop button, the ESC key, or clicking on another link
prior to the completion of a download.
Activity audit independent verification of measured activity for a specified time period. Some of the key
metrics validated are ad impressions, page impressions, clicks, total visits and unique
users. An activity audit results in a report verifying the metrics. Formerly known as a count
audit.
Ad/advertisement a commercial message targeted to an advertiser’s customer or prospect.
Ad audience the number of unique users exposed to an ad within a specified time period.
Ad banner a graphic image or other media object used as an advertisement. See iab.net for voluntary
guidelines for banner ads.
Ad blocker software on a user’s browser which prevents advertisements from being displayed.
Ad campaign audit an activity audit for a specific ad campaign.
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Ad centric measurement audience measurement derived from a third-party ad server's own server logs.
Ad click a measurement of the user-initiated action of responding to (such as clicking on) an ad
element causing a re-direct to another Web location or another frame or page within the
advertisement. There are three types of ad clicks: 1) click-throughs; 2) in-unit clicks; and
3) mouseovers. Ad click-throughs should be tracked and reported as a 302 redirect at the
ad server and should filter out robotic activity.
Ad click rate ratio of ad clicks to ad impressions.
Ad display/Ad delivered when an ad is successfully displayed on the user's computer screen.
Ad download when an ad is downloaded by a server to a user’s browser. Ads can be requested, but
aborted or abandoned before actually being downloaded to the browser, and hence there
would be no opportunity to see the ad by the user.
Address a unique identifier for a computer or site online, usually a URL for a Web site or marked
with an @ for an e-mail address. Literally, it is how one computer finds the location of
another computer using the Internet.
Ad impression 1) an ad which is served to a user’s browser. Ads can be requested by the user’s browser
(referred to as pulled ads) or they can be pushed, such as e-mailed ads; 2) a measurement
of responses from an ad delivery system to an ad request from the user's browser, which is
filtered from robotic activity and is recorded at a point as late as possible in the process of
delivery of the creative material to the user's browser -- therefore closest to the actual
opportunity to see by the user. Two methods are used to deliver ad content to the user - a)
server-initiated and b) client-initiated. Server-initiated ad counting uses the publisher's
Web content server for making requests, formatting and re-directing content. Clientinitiated ad counting relies on the user's browser to perform these activities.
For organizations that use a server-initiated ad counting method, counting should occur
subsequent to the ad response at either the publisher's ad server or the Web content
server. For organizations using a client-initiated ad counting method, counting should
occur at the publisher's ad server or third-party ad server, subsequent to the ad request, or
later, in the process. See iab.net for ad campaign measurement guidelines.
Ad impression ratio Click-throughs divided by ad impressions. See click rate.
Ad insertion when an ad is inserted in a document and recorded by the ad server.
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Ad materials the creative artwork, copy, active URLs and active target sites which are due to the seller
prior to the initiation of the ad campaign.
Ad network an aggregator or broker of advertising inventory for many sites. Ad networks are the sales
representatives for the Web sites within the network.
Ad recall a measure of advertising effectiveness in which a sample of respondents are exposed to an
ad and then at a later point in time are asked if they recall the ad. Ad recall can be on an
aided or unaided basis. Aided ad recall is when the respondent is told the name of the
brand or category being advertised.
Ad request the request for an advertisement as a direct result of a user's action as recorded by the ad
server. Ad requests can come directly from the user’s browser or from an intermediate
Internet resource, such as a Web content server.
Ad serving the delivery of ads by a server to an end user's computer on which the ads are then
displayed by a browser and/or cached. Ad serving is normally performed either by a Web
publisher, or by a third-party ad server. Ads can be embedded in the page or served
separately.
Ad space the location on a page of a site in which an advertisement can be placed. Each space on a
site is uniquely identified. Multiple ad spaces can exist on a single page.
Ad streamthe series of ads displayed by the user during a single visit to a site (also impression
stream).
Ad transfers the successful display of an advertiser's Web site after the user clicked on an ad. When a
user clicks on an advertisement, a click-through is recorded and re-directs or "transfers"
the user's browser to an advertiser's Web site. If the user successfully displays the
advertiser's Web site, an ad transfer is recorded.
Ad view when the ad is actually seen by the user. Note this is not measurable today. The best
approximation today is provided by ad displays.
Ad window separate from the content window.
Advertiser the company paying for the advertisement.
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Advertising revenue revenue realized from the sale of advertising. See interactive advertising revenue.
Affiliate marketing an agreement between two sites in which one site (the affiliate) agrees to feature content
or an ad designed to drive traffic to another site. In return, the affiliate receives a
percentage of sales or some other form of compensation generated by that traffic.
Affinity marketing selling products or services to customers on the basis of their established buying patterns.
The offer can be communicated by e-mail promotions, online or offline advertising.
Alternate text a word or phrase that is displayed when a user has image loading disabled in their browser
or when a user abandons a page by hitting "stop" in their browser prior to the transfer of
all images. Also appears as “balloon text” when a user lets their mouse rest over an
image.
Animated advertisement an ad that changes over time. For example, an animated ad is an interactive Java applet
or Shockwave or GIF89a file.
Animated GIF an animation created by combining multiple GIF images in one file. The result is multiple
images, displayed one after another, that give the appearance of movement.
Anonymizer an intermediary which prevents Web sites from seeing a user’s Internet Protocol (IP)
address.
Applet a small, self-contained software application that is most often used by browsers to
automatically display animation and/or to perform database queries requested by the
user.
Applicable browser any browser an ad will impact, regardless of whether it will play the ad.
Artifacting distortion that is introduced into audio or video by the compression algorithm (codec).
Compressed images may have stray pixels (often white dots) that were not present in the
original image. See codec.
Aspect ratio the width-to-height ratio of the picture frame. TV broadcasts at a 4:3 (1.33:1) aspect
ratio; digital TV will be broadcast with a 16:9 (1.78:1) ratio; and most feature films are
shot in at least a 1.85:1 ratio. IMUs have an aspect ratio of 6:5 (330x 250; 336 x 280; and
180 x 150).
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Audit third party validation of log activity and/or measurement process associated with Internet
activity/advertising. Activity audits validate measurement counts. Process audits validate
internal controls associated with measurement.
Auditor a third party independent organization that performs audits.
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B
Backbone a central network connecting other networks together.
Bandwidth 1) the transmission rate of a communications line or system, expressed either as cycles per
second/hertz for analog lines, or as bits (bps) or kilobits per second (Kbps) for digital
systems; 2) line speed; 3) the amount of information that can be transmitted over
communications lines at one time.
Bandwidth competition a bottleneck, however brief, when two or more files are simultaneously transmitted over a
single line. Unless the system is able to prioritize among the files, the effect is to slow
delivery of each.
Banner a graphic image displayed on an HTML page used as an ad. See iab.net for voluntary
guidelines defining specifications of banner ads.
Barter the exchange of goods and services without the use of cash. The value of the barter is the
dollar value of the goods and services being exchanged for advertising. This is a recognized
form of revenue under GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles).
BtoB/B2B (Business-to-Business) businesses whose customers are other businesses.
BtoC (Business-to-Consumer) businesses whose major customers are consumers.
BBS (Bulletin Board System) software that enables users to log into e-mail, usenet and chat groups via modem.
Beacon a snippet of code placed in an ad, on a Web page, or in an email which helps measure
whether the ad, page or email was delivered to the browser and to track actions in
general. Also known as a clear GIF or pixel tag.
Beta a test version of a product, such as a Web site or software, prior to final release.
Beyond-the-banner a term referring to any advertisement that is not a banner, e.g. an interstitial, streaming
video ads, etc.
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Bit the smallest unit of data in a computer. A bit has a single binary value of either 0 or 1.
There are eight bits in a byte.
Bit rate a measure of bandwidth which tells you how fast data is traveling from one place to
another on a computer network. Bit rate is usually expressed in kilobits (100 bits) per
second or Kbps.
Bonus impressions additional ad impressions above the commitments outlined in the approved insertion order.
Bot short for robot. See intelligent agent, robot.
Bounce what happens when e-mails are returned to the mail server as undeliverable.
Broadband an Internet connection that delivers a relatively high bit rate - any bit rate at or above 100
Kbps. Cable modems, DSL and ISDN all offer broadband connections.
Browser a software program that can request, download, cache and display documents available on
the World Wide Web. Browsers can be either text-based or graphical.
Browser sniffer see sniffer.
Buffering when a streaming media player saves portions of a streaming media file until there is
enough information for the stream to begin playing.
Button 1) clickable graphic that contains certain functionality, such as taking one someplace or
executing a program; 2) buttons can also be ads. See iab.net for voluntary guidelines
defining specifications of button ads.
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C
Cable modem a device that permits one-way or two-way high speed data communication over a cable
television system for purposes such as Internet access .
Cache memory used to temporarily store the most frequently requested content/files/pages in
order to speed its delivery to the user. Cache can be local (i.e. on a browser) or on a
network. In the case of local cache, most computers have both memory (RAM), and disk
(hard drive) cache. Today, Web browsers cause virtually all data viewed to be cached on a
user's computer.
Cache busting the process by which sites or servers serve content or HTML in such a manner as to
minimize or prevent browsers or proxies from serving content from their cache. This forces
the user or proxy to fetch a fresh copy for each request. Among other reasons, cache
busting is used to provide a more accurate count of the number of requests from users.
Cached ad impressions the delivery of an advertisement to a browser from local cache or a proxy server’s cache.
When a user requests a page that contains a cached ad, the ad is obtained from the cache
and displayed.
Caching the process of copying a Web element (page or ad) for later reuse. On the Web, this
copying is normally done in two places: in the user's browser and on proxy servers. When a
user makes a request for a Web element, the browser looks into its own cache for the
element; then a proxy, if any; followed by the intended server. Caching is done to reduce
redundant network traffic, resulting in increased overall efficiency of the Internet.
CARU (The Children's Advertising Review Unit) division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus that reviews advertising and promotional
material directed at children in all media. See caru.org for more information.
CGI script (Common Gateway Interface) CGI’s are used to allow a user to pass data to a Web server, most commonly in a Webbased form. Specifically, CGI scripts are used with forms such as pull-down menus or textentry areas with an accompanying submit button. The input from the form is processed by
a program (the CGI script itself) on a remote Web server.
Channel 1) a band of similar content; 2) a type of sales outlet (also known as channel of
distribution), for example retail, catalogue, or e-commerce.
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Chat online interactive communication between two or more people on the Web. One can “talk”
in real time with other people in a chat room, but the words are typed instead of spoken.
Chat room an area online where you can chat with other people in real-time.
Click down the action of clicking on an element within an ad and having another file displayed on the
user’s screen, normally below or above the initial ad. Click down ads allow the user to stay
on the same Web page and provide the advertiser a larger pallet to communicate their
message.
Click rate ratio of ad clicks to ad impressions.
Clicks 1) metric which measures the reaction of a user to an Internet ad. There are three types of
clicks: click-throughs; in-unit clicks; and mouseovers; 2) the opportunity for a user to
download another file by clicking on an advertisement, as recorded by the server; 3) the
result of a measurable interaction with an advertisement or key word that links to the
advertiser’s intended Web site or another page or frame within the Web site; 4) metric
which measures the reaction of a user to hot-linked editorial content. See iab.net for ad
campaign measurement guidelines. See also ad click, click-through, in-unit clicks and
mouseover.
Click-stream 1) the electronic path a user takes while navigating from site to site, and from page to
page within a site; 2) a comprehensive body of data describing the sequence of activity
between a user’s browser and any other Internet resource, such as a Web site or third
party ad server.
Click-through the action of following a hyperlink within an advertisement or editorial content to another
Web site or another page or frame within the Web site. Ad click-throughs should be
tracked and reported as a 302 redirect at the ad server and should filter out robotic
activity.
Click-within similar to click down or click. But more commonly, click-withins are ads that allow the
user to “drill down” and click, while remaining in the advertisement, not leaving the site
on which they are residing.
Client a computer that submits an information request to a server on behalf of a user or proxy.
Client-initiated ad impression one of the two methods used for ad counting. Ad content is delivered to the user via two
methods - server-initiated and client-initiated. Client-initiated ad counting relies on the
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user’s browser for making requests, formatting and re-directing content. For organizations
using a client-initiated ad counting method, counting should occur at the publisher’s ad
server or third-party ad server, subsequent to the ad request, or later, in the process. See
server-initiated ad impression.
Codec short for compressor/decompressor. Codecs are computer algorithms that are used to
compress the size of audio, video, and image files. Because these compressed files are
much smaller, they do not require as much bandwidth when they are streamed or stored
on a computer. The same codec that originally compressed the file must be used to
decompress and open the file.
Communication error the failure of a Web browser/Web server to successfully request/transfer a document.
Content integration advertising woven into editorial content or placed in a contextual envelope. Also known as
"Web advertorial".
Cookie a file on the user’s browser that uniquely identifies the user’s browser. There are two
types of cookies: persistent cookies and session cookies. Session cookies are temporary and
are erased when the browser exits. Persistent cookies remain on the user’s hard drive
until the user erases them or until they expire.
Cookie buster software that blocks the placement of cookies on a user’s browser.
COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) Congress enacted the COPPA in 1998 to prohibit unfair or deceptive acts or
practices in connection with the collection, use, or disclosure of personally identifiable
information from and about children on the Internet. Section 6502(b)(1) of the Act sets
forth a series of general privacy protections to prevent unfair or deceptive online
information collection from or about children, and directs the Commission to adopt
regulations to implement those protections. The Act requires operators of Web sites
directed to children and operators who knowingly collect personal information from
children to: (1) Provide parents notice of their information practices; (2) obtain prior
verifiable parental consent for the collection, use, and/or disclosure of personal
information from children (with certain limited exceptions for the collection of "online
contact information," e.g., an e-mail address); (3) provide a parent, upon request, with
the means to review the personal information collected from his/her child; (4) provide a
parent with the opportunity to prevent the further use of personal information that has
already been collected, or the future collection of personal information from that child;
(5) limit collection of personal information for a child's online participation in a game,
prize offer, or other activity to information that is reasonably necessary for the activity;
and (6) establish and maintain reasonable procedures to protect the confidentiality,
security, and integrity of the personal information collected.
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COPPR (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule) issued by the FTC in October 1999 the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule went into
effect on April 21, 2000, and implements the requirements of the COPPA by requiring
operators of websites or online services directed to children and operators of Web sites or
online services who have actual knowledge that the person from whom they seek
information is a child (1) to post prominent links on their Web sites to a notice of how they
collect, use, and/or disclose personal information from children; (2) with certain
exceptions, to notify parents that they wish to collect information from their children and
obtain parental consent prior to collecting, using, and/or disclosing such information; (3)
not to condition a child's participation in online activities on the provision of more personal
information than is reasonably necessary to participate in the activity; (4) to allow parents
the opportunity to review and/or have their children's information deleted from the
operator's database and to prohibit further collection from the child; and (5) to establish
procedures to protect the confidentiality, security, and integrity of personal information
they collect from children. As directed by the COPPA, the Rule also provides a safe harbor
for operators following Commission-approved self-regulatory guidelines. See www.caru.org
for more information.
Copy printed text in an advertisement.
Count audit see activity audit.
CPA (Cost-per-Action) cost of advertising based on a visitor taking some specifically defined action in response to
an ad. "Actions" include such things as a sales transaction, a customer acquisition, or a
click.
CPC (Cost-per-Customer) the cost an advertiser pays to acquire a customer.
CPC (Cost-per-click) cost of advertising based on the number of clicks received.
CPL (Cost-per-lead) cost of advertising based on the number of database files (leads) received.
CPM (Cost-per-thousand) media term describing the cost of 1,000 impressions. For example, a Web site that charges
$1,500 per ad and reports 100,000 visits has a CPM of $15 ($1,500 divided by 100).
CPM pricing model pricing model based on the cost of delivering ad impressions. See CPM and Pay-perImpression.
CPO (Cost-per-Order) cost of advertising based on the number of orders received. Also called Cost-perTransaction.
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CPS (Cost-per-Sale) the advertiser's cost to generate one sales transaction. If this is being used in conjunction
with a media buy, a cookie can be offered on the content site and read on the advertiser's
site after the successful completion of an online sale.
CPT (Cost-per-Transaction) see CPO (Cost-per-Order).
CPTM (Cost per Targeted Thousand Impressions) implying that the audience one is trying to reach is defined by particular demographics or
other specific characteristics, such as male golfers age 18-25.The difference between CPM
and CPTM is that CPM is for gross impressions, while CPTM is for targeted impressions.
Crawler a software program which visits virtually all pages of the Web to create indexes for search
engines. They are more interested in text files than graphic files. See also spider, bot, and
intelligent agent.
CRM customer relationship marketing. Marketing specifically targeted to increasing brand
loyalty.
Cyber Cafe a place which contains computers with access to the Internet and which is available to the
public.
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D
Daughter window an ad that runs in a separate ad window associated with a concurrently displayed banner.
In normal practice, the content and banner are rendered first and the daughter window
appears thereafter.
Demographics common characteristics used for population or audience segmentation, such as age,
gender, household income, etc.
Digital signatures signatures for electronic documents. They establish identity and therefore can be used to
establish legal responsibility and the complete authenticity of whatever they are affixed to
-- in effect, creating a tamper-proof seal.
Digital Video Server a robust, dedicated computer at a central location that receives command requests from
the television viewer through a video-on-demand application. Once it receives this
request, it then instantly broadcasts specific digital video streams to that viewer.
Display successful download giving the user an opportunity to see.
DHTML (Dynamic Hypertext Markup Language) an extended set of HTML commands which are used by Web designers to create much
greater animation and interactivity than HTML.
Domain name the unique name that identifies an Internet site. Every domain name consists of one top or
high-level and one or more lower-level designators. Top-level domains (TLDs) are either
generic or geographic. Generic top-level domains include .com (commercial), .net
(network), .edu (educational), .org (organizational, public or non-commercial), .gov
(governmental), .mil (military); .biz (business), .info (informational),.name (personal),
.pro (professional), .aero (air transport and civil aviation), .coop (business cooperatives
such as credit unions) and .museum. Geographic domains designate countries of origin,
such as .us (United States), .fr (France), .uk (United Kingdom), etc.
DPO (Distinct Point of Origin) a unique address from which a browser connects to a Web site on the Internet.
Drill down when an online user accesses more and more pages of the Web site, i.e., he or she goes
deeper into the content of the site.
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DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) a high-speed dedicated digital circuit from a given location to the telephone company's
central office, using normal copper telephone lines. DSL provides a separate channel for
voice and fax, which means that phone calls and faxes can be carried at the same time
high-speed data is flowing across the line. DSL is a general term that includes several
variations: ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line), ranging up to 1.5 Mbps; HDSL (Highbit-rate Digital Subscriber Line), 1.5 Mbps; SDSL (Single-line Digital Subscriber Line), 1.5
Mbps; VDSL (Very high-data-rate Digital Subscriber Line), ranging up to 2.3 Mbps; and RDSL
(Rate Adaptive Digital Subscriber Line), various speeds.
DVR (Digital Video Recorder) a high capacity hard drive that is embedded in a set-top box, which records video
programming from a television set. These DVRs are operated by personal video recording
software, which enables the viewer to pause, fast forward, and manage all sorts of other
functions and special applications.
Dynamic ad placement the process by which an ad is inserted into a page in response to a user's request. Dynamic
ad placement allows alteration of specific ads placed on a page based on any data
available to the placement program. At its simplest, dynamic ad placement allows for
multiple ads to be rotated through one or more spaces. In more sophisticated examples,
the ad placement could be affected by demographic data or usage history for the current
user.
Dynamic IP address an IP address that changes every time a user logs on to the Internet.
Dynamic rotation delivery of ads on a rotating, random basis so that users are exposed to different ads and
ads are served in different pages of the site.
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E
E-commerce the process of selling products or services via the Web.
E-mail electronic mail. Text files that are sent from one person to another over the Internet.
E-mail campaign advertising campaign distributed via e-mail.
Encoding the process of compressing and separating a file into packets so that it can be delivered
over a network.
Encoder a hardware or software application used to compress audio and video signals for the
purpose of streaming.
Encryption the scrambling of digital information so that it is unreadable without the use of digital
keys.
EPG (Electronic Programming Guide) an application that allows the viewer to interactively select his/her television
programming.
Ethernet a networking technology that links computers together.
ETV (Enhanced Television) a type of interactive television technology which allows content producers to send HTML
data and graphical "enhancements" through a small part of the regular analog broadcast
signal called the Vertical Blanking Interval. These enhancements appear as overlays on the
video and allow viewers to click on them if they are watching TV via special set-top
box/software services.
Expandable banners a banner ad which can expand to as large as 468 x 240 after a user clicks on it or after a
user moves his/her cursor over the banner. See iab.net for the IAB IMU guidelines.
Extranet an intranet that is partially accessible to authorized outsiders via a valid username and
password.
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Eyeballs reference to the number of people who view, or "lay their eyes on," a certain
advertisement.
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F
Failure to transfer content requested by a browser can fail to transfer if the page is abandoned by the
browser which requested it (see abandon) or if the server is unable to send the complete
page, including the ads (known as an error or a communications error).
Family/Ad family a collection of one or more ad creatives. Also called ad campaign.
FAQ frequently asked questions.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) Internet protocol which facilitates transfer of files.
Filtering the process of removing robotic activity and error codes from measurement records to
make the remaining records representative of valid human Internet actions.
Filtration guidelines IAB voluntary guidelines for removing non-human activity in the reported measurement of
ad impressions, page impressions, unique visitors and clicks. See iab.net for ad campaign
measurement guidelines.
Finger an Internet software tool for locating people on other Internet sites. A finger is also
sometimes used to give access to non-personal information, but the most common use is to
see if a person has an account at a particular Internet site. Not all sites allow incoming
finger requests.
Firewall a security barrier placed between an organization's internal computer network and the
Internet. A firewall is based on rules which allow and disallow traffic to pass, based on the
level of security and filtering a network administrator wishes to employ.
Flame an inflammatory opinion or criticism distributed by e-mail or posted on a newsgroup.
Flash™ Macromedia’s vector-based graphics file format which is used to display interactive
animations on a Web page. This form of rich media technology is available via a plug-in.
Flash downloading the ability to automatically send software upgrades to a set-top box network.
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Floating ads an ad or ads that appear within the main browser window on top of the Web page's normal
content, thereby appearing to "float" over the top of the page.
Fold an ad or content that is viewable as soon as the Web page arrives. One does not have to
scroll down (or sideways) to see it. Since screen resolution can affect what is immediately
viewable, it is good to know whether the Web site's audience tends to set their resolution
at 640 x 480 pixels or at 800 x 600 (or higher).
Frames multiple, independent sections used to create a single Web page. Each frame is built as a
separate HTML file but with one "master" file to control the placement of each section.
When a user requests a page with frames, several files will be displayed as panes. Sites
using frames report one page request with several panes as multiple page requests. IAB ad
campaign measurement guidelines call for the counting of one file per frame set as a page
impression.
Frame rate the number of frames of video displayed during a given time. The higher the frame rate,
the more high-quality the image will be.
Frequency the number of times an ad is delivered to the same browser in a single session or time
period. A site can use cookies in order to manage ad frequency.
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G
Gigabyte one gigabyte equals 1000 megabytes.
GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) a graphic format which uses compression to store and display images.
GIF89a/Animated GIF an extension of the .gif format which creates animation through a sequence of images
being stored in a single image. A delay is customizable between “frames” to render the
appearance of animation, much like a flappable picturebook.
Gross exposures the total number of times an ad is served, including duplicate downloads to the same
person.
GSM (Global System for Mobile) the wireless telephone standard in Europe.
GUI (Graphical Interchange Format) a way of enabling users to interact with the computer using visual icons and a mouse
rather than a command-like prompt/interpreter.
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H
HDTV (High-Definition Television) a higher quality signal resolution using a digital format for the transmission and reception
of TV signals. HDTV provides about five times more picture information (picture elements
or pixels) than conventional television, creating clarity, wider aspect ratio, and digital
quality sound.
Head end the site in a cable system or broadband coaxial network where the programming originates
and the distribution network starts. Signals are usually received off the air from satellites,
microwave relays, or fiber-optic cables at the head end for distribution.
Heuristic a way to measure a user's unique identity. This measure uses deduction or inference based
on a rule or algorithm which is valid for that server. For example, the combination of IP
address and user agent can be used to identify a user in some cases. If a server receives a
new request from the same client within 30 minutes, it is inferred that a new request
comes from the same user and the time since the last page request was spent viewing the
last page. Also referred to as an inference.
History lists a pull-down menu which displays the sites you've recently visited so you can return to the
site instantly or view your latest session. The same mechanism makes it possible for
servers to track where you were before visiting a particular site.
Hit when users access a Web site, their computer sends a request to the site's server to begin
downloading a page. Each element of a requested page (including graphics, text,
interactive items) is recorded by the site's Web server log file as a "hit." If a page
containing two graphics is accessed by a user, those hits will be recorded once for the page
itself and once for each of the graphics. Webmasters use hits to measure their servers'
workload. Because page designs and visit patterns vary from site to site, the number of
hits bears no relationship to the number of pages downloaded, and is therefore a poor
guide for traffic measurement.
Home page the page designated as the main point of entry of a Web site (or main page) or the starting
point when a browser first connects to the Internet. Typically, it welcomes you and
introduces the purpose of the site, or the organization sponsoring it, and then provides
links to other pages within the site.
Host any computer on a network that offers services or connectivity to other computers on the
network. A host has an IP address associated with it.
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Hotlists pull-down or pop-up menus often displayed on browsers or search engines that contain new
or popular sites.
Hot spot see Hyperlink.
House ads ads for a product or service from the same company. “Revenues” from house ads should
not be included in reported revenues.
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) a set of codes called markup tags in a plain text (*.txt) file that determine what
information is retrieved and how it is rendered by a browser. There are two kinds of
markup tags: anchor and format. Anchor tags determine what is retrieved, and format tags
determine how it is rendered.
HTML page a HyperText Markup Language document stored in a directory on a Web server and/or
created dynamically at the time of the request for the purpose of satisfying that request.
In addition to text, an HTML page may include graphics, video, audio, and other files.
HTTP (Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol) the format most commonly used to transfer documents on the World Wide Web.
Hybrid pricing pricing model which is based on a combination of a CPM pricing model and a performancebased pricing model. See CPM pricing model and performance-based pricing model.
Hyperlink HTML programming which redirects the user to a new URL when the individual clicks on
hypertext.
Hypertext text or graphical elements on a page which activates a hyperlink when clicked.
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I
IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) IAB is a non-profit trade association devoted exclusively to maximizing the use and
effectiveness of interactive advertising and marketing. See iab.net for more information.
iFrame (inline frame) a floating frame inserted within a Web page which is not bound to the side of a browser
window.
Image map a GIF or JPEG image with more than one linking hyperlink. Each hyperlink or hot spot can
lead to a different destination page.
Impression a measurement of responses from a Web server to a page request from the user browser,
which is filtered from robotic activity and error codes, and is recorded at a point as close
as possible to opportunity to see the page by the user.
IMU (Interactive Marketing Unit) the standard ad unit sizes endorsed by IAB. See iab.net for more information.
Inference an assumption. See heuristic.
Insertion actual placement of an ad in a document, as recorded by the ad server.
Insertion order purchase order between a seller of interactive advertising and a buyer (usually an
advertiser or its agency).
Instant messaging a method of users communicating one-to-one or in groups over the standard IP protocol.
Users can assemble “buddy lists” and chat with friends, family and colleagues.
Intelligent agents software tools which help the user find information of specific interest to him/her. The
user’s profile is continually refined and improved based on the user's acceptance or
rejection of recommendations over time.
Interactive advertising all forms of online, wireless and interactive television advertising, including banners,
sponsorships, e-mail, keyword searches, referrals, slotting fees, classified ads and
interactive television commercials.
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Interactive advertising revenues revenues realized from the sale of interactive advertising.
Internal page impressions Web site activity that is generated by individuals with IP addresses known to be affiliated
with the Web site owner. Internal activity that is associated with administration and
maintenance of the site should be excluded from the traffic or measurement report.
Internet a worldwide system of computer networks providing reliable and redundant connectivity
between disparate computers and systems by using common transport and data protocols.
Interstitial ads ads that appear between two content pages. Also known as transition ads, intermercial
ads, splash pages and Flash pages.
Intranet a network based on TCP/IP protocols that belongs to an organization, usually a
corporation, and is accessible only by the organization’s members, employees or others
with authorization.
In-unit click a measurement of a user-initiated action of responding to an ad element which generally
causes an intra-site redirect or content change. In-unit clicks are usually tracked via a 302
redirect. Also known as click-downs, click-ups and click-withins. See ad click; 302 redirect.
Inventory the number of ads available for sale on a Web site.
IP (Internet Protocol) a protocol telling the network how packets are addressed and routed.
IP address Internet protocol numerical address assigned to each computer on the network so that its
location and activities can be distinguished from other computers. The format is
##.##.##.## with each number ranging from 0 through 255 (e.g. 125.45.87.204)
IRC - (Internet Relay Chat) 1) a facility that allows people to chat in real time. The chats, or forums, are typed
remarks, and they can be either public or private; 2) a protocol that allows users to
converse with others in real time. IRC is structured as a network of servers, each of which
accepts connections from client programs.
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) high-speed dial-up connections to the Internet over ordinary copper phone wires. DSL has
in large part replaced ISDN. See DSL.
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ISP (Internet Service Provider) an organization that provides access to the Internet. An ISP can be a commercial provider,
a corporate computer network, a school, college, university, or the government.
ITI (Information Technology Industry Council) represents the leading U.S. providers of information technology products and services. It
advocates growing the economy through innovation and supports free-market policies. See
itic.org for more information.
iTV (Interactive Television) any technology that allows for two-way communication between the audience and the
service provider (such as the broadcaster, cable operator, set-top box manufacturer) via
standard or enhanced television appliance.
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J
Java® a programming language designed for building applications on the Internet. It allows for
advanced features, increased animation detail and real-time updates. Small applications
called Java applets can be downloaded from a server and executed by Java-compatible
browsers like Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator.
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) file format that uses a compression technique to reduce the size (number of bytes) of
graphic files.
Jump page ad microsite which is reached via click-through from button or banner ad. The jump page
itself can list several topics, which are linked to either the advertiser's site or the
publisher's site.
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K
Key word specific word(s) entered into a search engine by the user that result(s) in a list of Web
sites related to the key word. The key word can be purchased by advertisers in order to
direct the hyperlink opportunity to the advertiser's site or to serve an ad related to the
user’s search.
Keyword search revenues fees advertisers pay to retrieve the hyperlink opportunity to the advertiser’s site or to
serve an ad related to the user’s search.
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L
Lag the amount of time between making an online request or command and receiving a
response. See latency.
LAN (Local Area Network) a group of computers connected together (a network) which are at one physical location.
Large rectangle an IMU size. The IAB’s voluntary guidelines include seven Interactive Marketing Unit (IMU)
ad formats; two vertical units and five large rectangular units. See iab.net for more
information
Latency 1) time it takes for a data packet to move across a network connection; 2) visible delay
between request and display of content and ad. Latency sometimes leads to the user
leaving the site prior to the opportunity to see. In streaming media, latency can create
stream degradation if it causes the packets, which must be received and played in order,
to arrive out of order.
Link an electronic connection between two Web sites. Also called "hot link" and hyperlink.
Listserv a mailing list comprised of e-mail addresses.
Listserver a program that automatically sends e-mail to a list of subscribers or listserv.
Load usually used with up-load or down-load, it means to transfer files or software from one
computer or server to another computer or server. In other words, it is the movement of
information online.
Log a file that keeps track of network connections.
Log file a file that records transactions that have occurred on the Web server. Some of the types of
data which are collected are: date/time stamp, URL served, IP address of requestor, status
code of request, user agent string, previous URL of requestor, etc. Use of the extended log
file format is preferable.
Login the identification or name used to access a computer, network or site.
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M
Mailing list an automatically distributed e-mail message on a particular topic going to certain
individuals.
Makegoods additional ad impressions which are negotiated in order to make up for the shortfall of ads
delivered versus the commitments outlined in the approved insertion order.
M-commerce a term referring to mobile commerce which is the ability to conduct monetary transactions
via a mobile device, such as a WAP-enabled cell phone.
Media objects files, other than HTML documents, which can be displayed or executed within HTML
documents, or in a stand-alone fashion. Examples currently include GIFs, JPEGs, video,
audio, Flash objects (SWF), PDF, Java applets, and other objects which can be viewed
through a browser or using a “plug-in” (see plug-in).
Megabyte a million bytes.
Metcalfe's Law the value of a network increases geometrically with the number of people who use it.
Micro-sites multi-page ads accessed via click-through from initial ad. User stays on the publisher’s
Web site, but has access to more information from the advertiser than a standard ad
format allows.
MIME (Multi-purpose Internet Mail Extensions) a method of encoding a file for delivery over the Internet.
MIP (Mobile Internet Provider) ISPs dedicated to providing wireless service.
.MP3 a computer file format that compresses audio files by a factor of 12 from a .wav file.
Modem speeds the speed at which one connects to the Internet through his/her computer's modem. There
are dial-up and cable modems. The dial-up modem speeds include 14.4, 28.8, 33.6, 56K
and ISDN. Cable modem speeds range between 500 K and 2.5 Mbps. T1 and T3 are highspeed connections that do not require a modem. See also DSL.
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Modem device which transfers digital signals to analog signals and vice versa suitable for sending
across phone or cable lines.
Moore's Law the speed of computing doubles every 18 months.
Mouseover the process by which a user places his/her mouse over a media object, without clicking.
The mouse may need to remain still for a specified amount of time to initiate some
actions.
MPEG 1) the file format that is used to compress and transmit movies or video clips online; 2)
standards set by the Motion Picture Exports Group for video media.
MRC (Media Rating Council) a non-profit trade association dedicated to assuring valid, reliable and effective syndicated
audience research. The MRC performs audits of Internet measurements as well as
traditional media measurements.
Multi-camera angle or individualized television a technology that allows viewers to control camera angles during live events, select which
commercials they want to watch, and generally control a selection of choices content
producers provide as part of the broadcast. E-commerce and interaction with those
commercials is possible. In the backend, servers collect choice information and offer
viewers further selections based on those choices.
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N
NAI (Network Advertising Initiative) a cooperative group of network advertisers which has developed a set of privacy principles
in conjunction with the Federal Trade Commission. The NAI provides consumers with
explanations of Internet advertising practices and how they affect both consumers and the
Internet. See networkadvertising.org for more information.
Net TV televisions which have the ability to dial up to the Internet. Often, a manufacturer has
integrated or offers a special set-top which permits the viewer to connect online over
telephone wires.
Netiquette a term that is used to describe the informal rules of conduct ("do's and don'ts") of online
behavior.
Newsgroup an electronic bulletin board devoted to talking about a specific topic and open to
everybody. Only a handful of newsgroups permit the posting of advertising.
Non-registered user someone who visits a Web site and elects not to, or is not required to, provide certain
information, and hence may be denied access to part(s) of the site.
Nonqualifying page impressions page impressions which should be excluded from traffic or measurement reports, such as
unsuccessful transfers of requested documents, successful transfers of requested
documents to a robot or spider, and/or pages in a frame set. See frames.
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O
Off-site measurement when a site forwards its log files to an off-site Web research service for analysis.
On-demand the ability to request video, audio, or information to be sent to the screen immediately by
clicking something on the screen referring to that choice.
On-site measurement when a server has an appropriate software program to measure and analyze traffic
received on its own site.
OPA (Online Privacy Alliance) a group of corporations and associations who have come together to introduce and
promote business-wide actions that create an environment of trust and foster the
protection of individuals' privacy online. See privacyalliance.org for more information.
OPA (Online Publishers’ Association) trade association representing a segment of online publishers. See online-publishers.org for
more information.
Opt-in refers to an individual giving a company permission to use data collected from or about the
individual for a particular reason, such as to market the company's products and services.
See permission marketing.
Opt-in e-mail lists of Internet users who have voluntarily signed up to receive commercial e-mail about
topics of interest.
Opt-out when a company states that it plans to market its products and services to an individual
unless the individual asks to be removed from the company's mailing list.
OTS (Opportunity to See) same as page display - when a page is successfully displayed on the user's computer screen.
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P
P3P (Platform for Privacy Preferences Project) browser feature that will analyze privacy policies and allow a user to control their privacy
needs.
Packet sniffer a program used to monitor and record activity and to detect problems with Web
transactions on a network.
Page a document having a specific URL and comprised of a set of associated files. A page may
contain text, images, and other online elements. It may be static or dynamically
generated. It may be made up of multiple frames or screens, but should contain a
designated primary object which, when loaded, is counted as the entire page.
Page display when a page is successfully displayed on the user's computer screen.
Page impression a measurement of responses from a Web server to a page request from the user’s browser,
which is filtered from robotic activity and error codes, and is recorded at a point as close
as possible to the opportunity to see the page by the user.See iab.net for ad campaign
measurement guidelines.
Page request the opportunity for an HTML document to appear on a browser window as a direct result of
a user's interaction with a Web site.
Page view when the page is actually seen by the user. Note: this is not measurable today; the best
approximation today is provided by page displays.
Password a group of letters and/or numbers which allow a unique user access to a secured Web site
and/or a secure area of a Web site.
Pay-per-Click an advertising pricing model in which advertisers pay agencies and/or media companies
based on how many users clicked on an online ad or e-mail message.
Pay-per-Impression an advertising pricing model in which advertisers pay based on how many users were
served their ads. See CPM pricing model.
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Pay-per-Lead an advertising pricing model in which advertisers pay for each "sales lead" generated. For
example, an advertiser might pay for every visitor that clicked on an ad or site and
successfully completed a form. See CPL.
Pay-per-Sale an advertising pricing model in which advertisers pay agencies and/or media companies
based on how many sales transactions were generated as a direct result of the ad. See CPS.
PDF files (Portable Document Format) a translation format developed by Adobe used primarily for distributing files across a
network, or on a Web site. Files with a .pdf extension have been created in another
application and then translated into .pdf files so they can be viewed by anyone, regardless
of platform.
Performance pricing model an advertising model in which advertisers pay based on a set of agreed upon performance
criteria, such as a percentage of online revenues or delivery of new sales leads. See CPA,
CPC, CPL, CPO, CPS, CPT.
Permission marketing when an individual has given a company permission to market its products and services to
the individual. See opt-in.
Persistent cookie a cookie which remains on the user’s hard drive until the user erases it.
PII (Personally Identifiable Information) refers to information such as an individual’s name, mailing address, phone number or email address.
PIN (Personal Identification Number)
a group of numbers which allow a unique user access to a secured Web site and/or a
secure area of a Web site. See password.
PIT (Page Information Transfer) the successful transfer of the text of a Web page to a browser.
Pixel picture element (single illuminated dot) on a computer monitor.
The metric used to indicate the size of Internet ads.
Platform the type of computer or operating system on which a software application runs, e.g., PC,
Macintosh, Unix or WebTV.
PLI (Privacy Leadership Initiative) a partnership of CEOs from 15 corporations and 9 business associations using research to
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create a climate of trust that will accelerate acceptance of the Internet and the emerging
Information Economy, both online and offline, as a safe and secure marketplace. See
understandingprivacy.org
Plug-in a program application that can easily be installed and used as part of a Web browser. Once
installed, plug-in applications are recognized by the browser and their function integrated
into the main HTML file being presented.
Pop-under ad ad that appears in a separate window beneath an open window. Pop-under ads are
concealed until the top window is closed, moved, resized or minimized.
Pop-up ad ad that appears in a separate window on top of content already on-screen. Similar to a
daughter window, but without an associated banner.
Pop-up transitional initiates play in a separate ad window during the transition between content pages.
Continues while content is simultaneously being rendered. Depending primarily on linespeed, play of a transitional ad may finish before or after content rendering is completed.
Portal a Web site that often serves as a starting point for a Web user’s session. It typically
provides services such as search, directory of Web sites, news, weather, e-mail, homepage
space, stock quotes, sports news, entertainment, telephone directory information, area
maps, and chat or message boards.
Pre-caching storing advertising or content in a computer's RAM or hard disk memory before it is
displayed on the user's screen, rather than at the time that it plays, to reduce delays in
rendering. See cache, caching.
Privacy policy a statement about what information is being collected; how the information being
collected is being used; how an individual can access his/her own data collected; how the
individual can opt-out; and what security measures are being taken by the parties
collecting the data.
Privacy seal program a program that certifies the Web site owner complies with the site’s proposed policy.
Examples include TRUSTe and BBBOnline.
Profiling the practice of tracking information about consumers' interests by monitoring their
movements online. This can be done without using any personal information, but simply by
analyzing the content, URL’s, and other information about a user’s browsing path/clickstream.
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Process audit third party validation of internal control processes associated with measurement. See
audit.
Protocol a uniform set of rules that enable two devices to connect and transmit data to one
another. Protocols determine how data are transmitted between computing devices and
over networks. They define issues such as error control and data compression methods.
The protocol determines the following: type of error checking to be used, data
compression method (if any), how the sending device will indicate that it has finished a
message and how the receiving device will indicate that it has received the message.
Internet protocols include TCP/IP (Transfer Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), HTTP
(Hypertext Transfer Protocol), FTP (File Transfer Protocol), and SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer
Protocol).
Proxy servers intermediaries between end users and Web sites such as ISPs, commercial online services,
and corporate networks. Proxy servers hold the most commonly and recently used content
from the Web for users in order to provide quicker access and to increase server security.
Push advertising pro-active, partial screen, dynamic advertisement which comes in various formats.
PVR (Personal Video Recorder) set-top box that stores up to 30 hours of TV programming and works with cable and
satellite systems. Viewers can pause or rewind live TV shows, record a season's worth of
episodes, and skip past commercials.
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Q
Query a request for information, usually to a search engine.
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R
Rate card the list of prices and products and packages offered by a media company.
Re-direct when used in reference to online advertising, one server assigning an ad-serving or adtargeting function to another server, often operated by a third company. For instance, a
Web publisher's ad management server might re-direct to a third-party hired by an
advertiser to distribute its ads to target customers; and then another re-direct to a "rich
media" provider might also occur if streaming video were involved before the ad is finally
delivered to the consumer. In some cases, the process of re-directs can produce latency.
See ad serving, latency.
Reach 1) unique users that visited the site over the course of the reporting period, expressed as a
percent of the universe for the demographic category; also called unduplicated audience;
2) the total number of unique users who will be served a given ad.
RealAudio® a software program that downloads and plays streaming audio files.
Real time events that happen in real time are happening virtually at that particular moment. When
one chats in a chat room, or sends an instant message, one is interacting in real time since
it is immediate.
Referral link the referring page, or referral link is a place from which the user clicked to get to the
current page. In other words, since a hyperlink connects one URL to another, in clicking on
a link the browser moves from the referring URL to the destination URL. Also known as
source of a visit.
Referral fees fees paid by advertisers for delivering a qualified sales lead or purchase inquiry.
Registration a process for site visitors to enter information about themselves. Sites use registration data
to enable or enhance targeting of content and ads. Registration can be required or
voluntary.
Repeat visitor unique visitor who has accessed a Web site more than once over a specific time period.
Return visits the average number of times a user returns to a site over a specific time period.
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Rich media a method of communication that incorporates animation, sound, video, and/or
interactivity. It can be used either singularly or in combination with the following
technologies: streaming media, sound, Flash, and with programming languages such as
Java, Javascript, and DHTML. It is deployed via standard Web and wireless applications
including e-mail, Web design, banners, buttons, and interstitials.
Robot a program that runs automatically without human intervention. Typically, a robot is
endowed with some artificial intelligence so that it can react to different situations it may
encounter. Two common types of robots are agents and spiders. Commercial robots are
programs that are used to fetch Web pages, but the user never has an opportunity to see
the content of the requested documents. Personal robots provide the user with the
opportunity to see the requested Web pages, usually in an offline mode. Also known as
bots.
ROI (Return on Investment) Net profit divided by investment.
RON (Run-of-Network) the scheduling of Internet advertising whereby an ad network positions ads across the sites
it represents at its own discretion, according to available inventor. The advertiser usually
forgoes premium positioning in exchange for more advertising weight at a lower CPM.
ROS (Run-of-Site) the scheduling of Internet advertising whereby ads run across an entire site, often at a
lower cost to the advertiser than the purchase of specific site sub-sections.
Router a device that connects any number of LANs. Routers use headers and a forwarding table to
determine where packets go, and they communicate with each other to configure the best
route between any two hosts.
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S
Sample a subset of a universe whose properties are studied to gain information about that
universe.
Sampling frame the source from which the sample is drawn.
Scripts files that initiate routines like generating Web pages dynamically in response to user input.
SDSL (Symmetrical Digital Subscriber Line)a type of DSL that uses only one of the two cable pairs for transmission. SDSL allows
residential or small office users to share the same telephone for data transmission and
voice or fax telephony.
Search engine a program that helps Web users find information on the Internet. The method for finding
this information is usually done by maintaining an index of Web resources that can be
queried for the keywords or concepts entered by the user.
Sell-through rate the percentage of ad inventory sold as opposed to traded or bartered.
Server a computer which distributes files which are shared across a LAN, WAN or the Internet.
Also known as a "host".
Server centric measurement audience measurement derived from server logs.
Server-initiated ad impression one of the two methods used for ad counting. Ad content is delivered to the user via two
methods - server-initiated and client-initiated. Server-initiated ad counting uses the
publisher’s Web content server for making requests, formatting and re-directing content.
For organizations using a server-initiated ad counting method, counting should occur
subsequent to the ad response at either the publisher's ad server or the Web content
server, or later in the process. See client-initiated ad impression.
Server pull a process whereby a user's browser maintains an automated or customized connection or
profile with a Web server. The browser usually sets up a unique request that is recorded
and stored electronically for future reference. Examples are: requests for the automated
delivery of e-mail newsletters, the request for Web content based on a specific search
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criteria determined by the user, or setting up a personalized Web page that customizes the
information delivered to the user based on pre-determined self selections.
Server push a process whereby a server maintains an open connection with a browser after the initial
request for a page. Through this open connection the server continues to provide updated
pages and content even though the visitor has made no further direct requests for such
information.
Session 1) a sequence of Internet activity made by one user at one site. If a user makes no request
from a site during a 30 minute period of time, the next content or ad request would then
constitute the beginning of a new visit; 2) a series of transactions performed by a user that
can be tracked across successive Web sites. For example, in a single session, a user may
start on a publisher's Web site, click on an advertisement and then go to an advertiser's
Web site and make a purchase. See visit.
Session cookies cookies which are loaded into a computer’s RAM, and only work during that browser
session. When the browser exits, these cookies are erased. They are “temporary cookies”,
and no cookie is written to a user’s hard drive. See cookie.
Set-top box an electronic device that sits on top of one’s TV set and allows it to connect to the
Internet, game systems, or cable systems.
SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) the parent language for HTML.
Shockwave a browser plug-in developed by Macromedia which allows multimedia objects to appear on
the Web (animation, audio and video).
Shop bot intelligent agent which searches for the best price.
Site-centric measurement audience measurement derived from a Web site's own server logs.
Skins customized and interchangeable sets of graphics, which allow Internet users to continually
change the look of their desktops or browsers, without changing their settings or
functionality. Skins are a type of marketing tool.
Skyscraper a tall, thin online ad unit. The IAB guidelines recommend two sizes of skyscrapers: 120 X
600 and 160 x 600.
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Slotting fee a fee charged to advertisers by media companies to get premium positioning on their site,
category exclusivity or some other special treatment. It is similar to slotting allowances
charged by retailers.
Smart Card identical in size and feel to credit cards, smart cards store information on an integrated
microprocessor chip located within the body of the card. These chips hold a variety of
information, from stored (monetary)-value used for retail and vending machines, to secure
information and applications for higher-end operations such as medical/healthcare
records. The different types of cards being used today are contact, contactless and
combination cards. Contact smart cards must be inserted into a smart card reader. These
cards have a contact plate on the face which makes an electrical connector for reads and
writes to and from the chip when inserted into the reader. Contactless smart cards have an
antenna coil, as well as a chip embedded within the card. The internal antenna allows for
communication and power with a receiving antenna at the transaction point to transfer
information. Close proximity is required for such transactions, which can decrease
transaction time while increasing convenience. A combination card functions as both a
contact and contactless smart card. Specific to interactive television, the viewer can insert
smart cards into the set-top box to trigger the box to decrypt contact programming.
SMPT (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) the protocol used to transfer e-mail.
Sniffer software that detects capabilities of the user's browser (looking for such things as Java
capabilities, plug-ins, screen resolution, and bandwidth).
Space location on a page of a site in which an ad can be placed. Each space on a site is uniquely
identified. There can be multiple spaces on a single page.
Spam slang term describing unsolicited e-mail.
Spider a program that automatically fetches Web pages. Spiders are used to feed pages to search
engines. It is called a spider because it crawls over the Web. Because most Web pages
contain links to other pages, a spider can start almost anywhere. As soon as it sees a link
to another page, it goes off and fetches it. Large search engines have many spiders
working in parallel. See robot.
Splash page a preliminary page that precedes the user-requested page of a Web site that usually
promotes a particular site feature or provides advertising. A splash page is timed to move
on to the requested page after a short period of time or a click. Also known as an
interstitial. Splash pages are not considered qualified page impressions under current
industry guidelines, but they are considered qualified ad impressions.
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Sponsor 1) a sponsor is an advertiser who has sponsored an ad and, by doing so, has also helped
sponsor or sustain the Web site itself; 2) an advertiser that has a special relationship with
the Web site and supports a specific feature of a Web site, such as a writer's column or a
collection of articles on a particular subject.
Sponsorship an association with a Web site in some way that gives an advertiser some particular
visibility and advantage above that of run-of-site advertising. When associated with
specific content, sponsorship can provide a more targeted audience than run-of-site ad
buys.
Static ad placement/Static rotation 1) ads that remain on a Web page for a specified period of time; 2) embedded ads.
Stickiness a measure used to gauge the effectiveness of a site in retaining individual users. Stickiness
is usually measured by the duration of the visit.
Streaming 1) technology that permits continuous audio and video delivered to a computer from a
remote Web site; 2) an Internet data transfer technique that allows the user to see and
hear audio and video files. The host or source compresses, then "streams" small packets of
information over the Internet to the user, who can access the content as it is received.
Streaming media player a software program which decompresses audio and/or video files so the user can hear
and/or see the video or audio file. Some examples are Real Player™, Windows Media and
Quick Time Player.
Superstitials® an interstitial format developed by Unicast which is fully pre-cached before playing. Specs
are 550 x 480 pixels (2/3 of screen), up to 100K file size and up to 20 seconds in length.
Surfing exploring the World Wide Web.
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T
T-commerce electronic commerce on interactive television.
T-1 a high-speed (1.54 megabits/second) Internet connection.
T-3 a very high-speed (45 megabits/second or higher) Internet connection.
TCP/IP (Transfer Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) a software standard used by the Internet to understand all computer languages and most
computers.
Target audience the intended audience for an ad, usually defined in terms of specific demographics (age,
sex, income, etc.) product purchase behavior, product usage or media usage.
Terms & Conditions the details of the contract accompanying an insertion order. See iab.net for voluntary
guidelines for standard terms & conditions for Internet advertising for media buys.
Textual ad impressions the delivery of a text-based advertisement to a browser. To compensate for slow Internet
connections, visitors may disable "auto load images" in their graphical browser. When they
reach a page that contains an advertisement, they see a marker and the advertiser's
message in text format in place of the graphical ad. Additionally, if a user has a text-only
browser, only textual ads are delivered and recorded as textual ad impressions.
Third-party ad server independent outsourced companies that specialize in managing, maintaining, serving,
tracking, and analyzing the results of online ad campaigns. They deliver targeted
advertising that can be tailored to consumers' declared or predicted characteristics or
preferences.
302 Redirect the process of a server sending a browser the location of a requested ad, rather than
sending the ad itself. Ad servers use 302 redirects to allow them to track activities such as
ad requests or ad clicks.
Throughput the amount of data transmitted through Internet connectors in response to a given
request.
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Token tracer or tag which is attached by the receiving server to the address (URL) of a page
requested by a user. A token lasts only through a continuous series of requests by a user,
regardless of the length of the interval between requests. Tokens can be used to count
unique users.
Total ad impressions the total of all graphical and textual ad impressions delivered, regardless of the source.
See ad impression.
Total unique users see unique user.
Total visits total number of browsers accessing a Web site within a specific time period. Total visits
should filter robotic activity, but can include visits from repeat visitors.
Total visitors total number of browsers or individuals which have accessed a site within a specific time
period.
Traffic the number of visits and/or visitors who come to a Web site.
Transfer the successful response to a page request; also when a browser receives a complete page
of content from a Web server.
Transitional ad an ad that is displayed between Web pages. In other words, the user sees an advertisement
as he/she navigates between page ‘a’ and page ‘b.’ Also known as an interstitial.
Transitional pop up an ad that pops up in a separate ad window between content pages.
Triggers a command from the host server that notifies the viewer's set-top box that interactive
content is available at this point. The viewer is notified about the available interactive
content via an icon or clickable text. Once clicked by using the remote control, the trigger
disappears and more content or a new interface appears on the TV screen.
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U
UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) broadband, packet-based transmission of text, digitized voice, video, and multimedia at
data rates up to and possibly higher than 2 megabits per second, offering a set of services
to mobile computer and phone users no matter where they are located in the world.
Unduplicated audience the number of unique individuals exposed to a specified domain, page or ad in a specified
time period.
Unique user unique individual or browser which has either accessed a site (see unique visitor) or which
has been served unique content and/or ads such as e-mail, newsletters, interstitials and
pop-under ads. Unique users can be identified by user registration or cookies. Reported
unique users should filter out robots. See iab.net for ad campaign measurement guidelines.
Unique visitor a unique user who accesses a Web site within a specific time period. See unique user.
Universe total population of audience being measured.
Unresolved IP addresses IP addresses that do not identify their 1st or 2nd level domain. Unresolved IP addresses
should be aggregated and reported as such. See also domain.
Upload to send data from a computer to a network. An example of uploading data is sending email.
URL (Uniform Resource Locator) the unique identifying address of any particular page on the Web. It contains all the
information required to locate a resource, including its protocol (usually HTTP), server
domain name (or IP address), file path (directory and name) and format (usually HTML or
CGI).
URL tagging the process of embedding unique identifiers into URLs contained in HTML content. These
identifiers are recognized by Web servers on subsequent browser requests. Identifying
visitors through information in the URLs should also allow for an acceptable calculation of
visits, if caching is avoided.
Usenet Internet bulletin-board application.
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User an individual with access to the World Wide Web.
User agent string a field in the server log file which identifies the specific browser software and computer
operating system making the request.
User centric measurement Web audience measurement based on the behavior of a sample of Web users.
User registration information contributed by an individual which usually includes characteristics such as the
person's age, gender, zip code and often much more. A site’s registration system is usually
based on an ID code or password to allow the site to determine the number of unique
visitors and to track a visitor's behavior within that site.
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V
Viewer person viewing content or ads on the Web. There is currently no way to measure viewers.
Viral marketing 1) any advertising that propagates itself; 2) advertising and/or marketing techniques that
"spread" like a virus by getting passed on from consumer to consumer and market to
market.
Visit measurement which has been filtered for robotic activity of one or more text and/or
graphics downloads from a site without 30 consecutive minutes of inactivity and which can
be reasonably attributed to a single browser for a single session. See iab.net for ad
campaign measurement guidelines.
Visit duration the length of time the visitor is exposed to a specific ad, Web page or Web site during a
single session.
Visitor individual or browser which accesses a Web site within a specific time period.
VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) programming language designed to be a 3D analog to HTML.
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W
WAA (Wireless Advertising Association) trade association promoting wireless advertising. Members include: hand held device
manufacturers, software providers, carriers and operators, agencies, retailers, and
advertisers. See waaglobal.org for more information.
WAN (Wide Area Network) a group of computers connected together (a network) which are not located at the same
physical location.
WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) a specification for a set of communication protocols to standardize the way that wireless
devices, such as cellular mobile telephones, PDAs and others can be used for Internetbased access.
WAP device any device (e.g., mobile phone, PDA, or simulator) that allows access to wireless content.
WAP phones mobile phones which utilize wireless application protocol technology to access the
Internet. The screen on a WAP phone can be used to deliver ads.
WASP (Wireless Applications Service Provider) an organization that provides content and applications for wireless devices.
Web beacon a line of code which is used by a Web site or third party ad server to track a user’s
activity, such as a registration or conversion. A Web beacon is often invisible because it is
only 1 x 1 pixel in size with no color. Also known as Web bug, 1 by 1 GIF, invisible GIF and
tracker GIF.
Web site the virtual location (domain) for an organization's or individual's presence on the World
Wide Web.
Web bug see Web beacon.
Webcasting real-time or pre-recorded delivery of a live event’s audio, video, or animation over the
Internet.
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X
XML (eXtensible Markup Language) a richer more dynamic successor to HTML utilizing SGML or HTML type tags to structure
information. XLM is used for transferring data and creating applications on the Web. See
SGML and HTML.
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Y
Yield the percentage of clicks vs. impressions on an ad within a specific page. Also called ad
click rate.
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